Christmas Stockings

Why does St. Nicholas leave gifts in Christmas stockings? One legend says Nicholas, a benevolent bishop in Turkey, had heard that the daughters of a villager had no dowries and so could not marry. When Nicholas came to visit them at their home, he found wool stockings had been left out to dry. He secretly filled each stocking with enough gold coins to provide for the dowries of the daughters.

As kids, Sam, Pete, and I left our stockings out on Christmas Eve and found them full on Christmas morning. We would open the presents in our stockings before going to mass and then open the presents under the tree when we returned. Not being in need of dowries, our stockings were not filled with coins of gold. They were sometimes filled with fruit and often with candy and other goodies. I remember getting Life Saver storybooks, macadamia nuts, jelly beans and more. The stockings pictured here were crocheted by my Grandma Jean in the early 1970's and used for a number of years in our family.

The Tree Is Down!

Okay, I posted on January 30, 2011 that I was starting to take ornaments off of the tree. Well, with one day left to spare in February, the whole thing is finally down! It really was a rather nice tree if I do say so myself.

Christmas 2005

 

Pictured is Mom and Dad's Christmas card for Christmas 2005. Here is the text of the circular letter included with that card:

"Another year has gone by way too quickly it seems. I'm sure it has something to do with aging which makes it seem that time goes faster."

"The most exciting news is that we will be blessed with two grandchildren in 2006. Becky and Sam are expecting their second baby, another boy, whose name will be John Cashel (that is at this writing) who is due toward the end of January. Peter and Stephanie will become parents in late March. The first ultrasound revealed a girl baby but no name has been decided upon yet."

"Sam and Becky are still in Germany and have a little over a year and a half left to go on this assignment. Becky keeps us up to date on little Calvin's accomplishments, she sends pictures almost every day. They were home for a week in April so we got to see Cal. He is a quirky little guy, much like Sam was as a youngster."

"Peter and Stephanie will be moving to Germany in August '06 to their new assignments there. So the two families will be in Germany at the same time for about a year. Pete and Steph will be at different Air Force Bases which are only 40 miles apart so they hope to find housing some where in between those two locations. We are a little diappointed that they will be leaving the States but it is a good time for them to do it. Sam and Becky have really enjoyed their time in Germany and have taken advantage of the opportunity to visit quite a few European countries and I would imagine Pete and Steph will do the same."

"Joseph is teaching at a new school this year but is still [in the same district]. Joe's partner Dale works for [a music camp]. He spends two months of the summer up at [the camp] and this summer I went with Joe to visit him. I had never been [there] so it was really fun to see [where Dale works]. After Christmas('05) Joe, Dale and I drove to Chicago to meet Dale's parents who came in on the train from Colorado. We had a very nice visit and took advantage of the good restaurants in Chicago."

"We were suppose[d] to go to see Peter and Stephanie for Thanksgiving but David became very ill and was hospitalized for two and a half weeks in November so we were unable to go. David had diverticulitis which moved into the blood stream (sepsis) and decided to make a home in the liver forming three abscesses there. They put a catheter in the liver to drain the abscesses and he was on high doses of antibiotics. He came home the day before Thanksgiving and was on home IV therapy for three more weeks. He is getting better but it is a slow process, he tires very quickly but is up and around and being as busy as his body allows."

"I am still working for [the hospital] but started a new job [there] in April. I am doing emergency room coding and charging which is a nice change. I work with a five person team and we moved out of the main medical record department and are now located near the ER. The plan is to have us housed in the ER so we have access to the doctors and nurses for documentation issues. Our new place will not be ready for at least a year and by then maybe I will retire....can't quite see myself not working however. I will have to start visualizing me as a "not working person" to try to get used to the idea. I have started singing with [the choir at church] this year and have found it to be quite enjoyable. I also am playing in a recorder group, there are five of us. I also have a recorder partner and we play together twice a month. I do like the recorder group but like duets the best."

"So with that we wish you well as we continue this Christmas Season and hope that you will have a happy and blessed New Year!"

Christmas 2006 - Part 3

Christmas 2006 - Part 2

Mom usually mails her Christmas cards out just after Christmas. The one pictured here arrived in January 2007 but still within the liturgical season of Christmas. It's signed "Mom & Dad" which is significant because it was Dad's last Christmas with us. Enclosed with the card was a poem titled 'The Package' that Mom had written in 2006 and pictured is an excerpt from it.

The excerpt reads:

"Take each event

each moment

being grateful for

graces given.

Daily drops of

God's love

in breath

and flower."

-AWL

Mom's Heart Ornaments

Mom has always liked making things. She has made these heart ornaments for about the last 20 or 25 years. The cross-stitch patterns came from a book but it was her idea to incorporate the cross-stitch piece with a felt heart. She gives them as gifts to friends, co-workers, and neighbors. The two that you see here were given to me as gifts from Mom. The one on the left is one I've had for quite a few years. The one on the right was a Valentine's gift in 2011.

Christmas Music - Jessye Norman

Mom bought the album Christmastide by Jessye Norman in the late 1980s. The album is copyrighted 1987 so I remember it being played the last few Christmases I actually lived at home. When I moved out in the early 1990s I picked up my own copy on CD and it has become one of my favorite Christmas albums. One of my favorite songs on the album is In the Bleak Midwinter. The first line of this song is popping into my head a lot right now as it describes February days just as much as December ones.

In the Bleak Midwinter

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas carols. I remember singing it for the first time during my freshman year in college for the choral Christmas concert.

In the Bleak Midwinter

words by Christina Rossetti

music by Gustav Holst

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone

Snow had fallen snow on snow, snow on snow

In the bleak midwinter, long ago

Our God heav'n cannot hold him, nor earth sustain

Heav'n and earth shall flee away, when he comes to reign

In the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed

The Lord God incarnate, Jesus Christ

Angels and archangels, may have gathered there

Cherubim and seraphim, thronged the air

But his mother only, in her maiden bliss

Worshipped the beloved, with a kiss

What can I give him? Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb

If I were a wise man, I would do my part

Yet what I can I give him, give my heart

Presents for Dad

My father died four years ago today. I remember as a kid never knowing what to get him for Christmas. In the 70's I'd usually get him English Leather cologne from the drugstore. He wore it and I loved the smell of it. Mom always suggested getting him chocolate covered cherries. He loved those. As I got older I tended to give him tools and he really loved those. I miss him very much and often think how wonderful it would be to have the opportunity to give him a gift again.

Christmas 2006

In the fall of 2006 we found out that my dad had later stage lung cancer and that he only had about 7-8 months to live. The holidays were very bittersweet that year. On the one hand I remember feeling so thankful that we'd have him with us for another Christmas. On the other hand I felt so sad that it would be the last Christmas I'd ever spend with him. I remember going over to the house on Stevens to visit shortly before Christmas. He was in the basement working on putting together some photo albums. Another project involved assembling collections of the state editions of the U.S. quarters to give to the grandchildren. My partner Dale remembers that the two of us spent Christmas Eve with my Mom, Dad, and Uncle Dale. We did fondue and opened presents. One little present that Mom got Dad was a booklet about tying knots. Dad laughed when he opened it and joked that tying knots would give him something to pass the time after he passed away. We actually interred him with it. It was placed in his shirt pocket.

This Christmas is notable because it was the first Christmas for Cashel (Sam and Becky's second child), and Abby (Pete and Stephanie's, first child). Both were born in 2006.